8 Tips for Buying Your First Mountain Bike

If you’re new to Carbon MTB, or a road rider looking for the thrills of hitting the dirt and going off-road, it’s handy to know what to look for when it comes to finding the right mountain bike. So check out our top tips on how to find the perfect ride to get trail-ready.

1. Get the right size

First up, everything else is secondary to the right frame size. But don’t rely on stated size – while many companies are switching to small, medium, and large instead of increasingly inaccurate numbers, (seat tubes have been shrinking even as frames get longer), there’s no standardized idea of what, for instance, constitutes large. One brand’s large can match another medium.

Instead, you’ll want to ensure that your bike is the right fit for you. Look for (and contrast) the reach (distance from the saddle to the bars) and stack (distance from the center of the crank to mid-head tube) measurements, and don’t be afraid to go longer than with a road bike. A long front triangle puts the axle further ahead, letting you weigh it (for grip) without risking going straight over the bars at the first impact. It also helps with climbing by keeping your front wheel planted.

Just don’t go so long there’s no standover clearance. You only need a couple of centimeters. A short seat tube gives good standover and the greatest room for maneuver, but make sure you can still get full pedaling height without overextending the Seatpost. Note that 29ers have taller fronts, and that riding position can be significantly tweaked with alternative stems, bars, and seat posts.

2. Choose a wheel size

Diameters have settled to an easy, binary choice of 27.5in (650b, aggressive trail, and downhill) or 29in (XC and trail). However, wide-rimmed Plus sizes and the recent trend towards 29in downhill wheels are muddying the waters.

While strong, stiff, and light(ish) 29ers will undoubtedly become more common in the next few years – along with suitable tires and frames – for now, the choice remains largely the same: favor bigger hoops for big miles, or smaller, stronger ones for smashing trails. Plus sizes can really pay off on hardtails, but they’re sensitive to tire pressure and there’s some question over whether they’re really here to stay.

3. Choose hardtail or full-suss

The rear shock, bearings, linkage, and extra manufacturing complications of full suspension all cost money. Consequently, you’re likely to get a better parts spec on a hardtail over a full-suss bike at the same price. You’ll have less maintenance and fewer things to go wrong, too.

On the other hand, full-suss bikes are now more advanced than ever, so their advantages can still outweigh their disadvantages. There’s no need to dismiss either, but forget needing to ‘learn’ on a hardtail before getting ‘a big bike’ – it’s a myth. Really, this one is my preference. 

4. Don’t obsess about weight

Weight is important but off-road, strength is marginally more important. Flimsy has no place when random rocks, roots, and ruts can grab at you from all angles – steering accuracy, cornering, and confidence all suffer, dragging your speed down with it. It’s better to carry a few extra pounds and keep your bike out of the hedge. And out of the workshop, too.

5. Beware the flashy trinkets

Don’t be fooled by a nice rear mech (derailleur): it’s common for these to be up-specced to help sell the bike. A quality mech is important, but so too are the shifters and cranksets – even the chainrings aren’t too far behind. Be aware that lower-spec components are heavier, more rudimentary, and not worth paying a premium for, so factor in your plan for future upgrades. FSA has a variety of quality MTB components available.

6. Choose suspension quality, not quantity

Check the reviews of the forks and shocks (on full suss) on the bike you’re looking at, and use the manufacturer’s site to get the exact models. Note that OE (original equipment) units can be a different (often lower) spec than similar-looking aftermarket ones. Quality damping and a decent air spring will do far more for you than any amount of extra travel.

7. Look for a futureproof design

Check for current/popular axle diameters and spacing, plus headset, bottom bracket, and even Seatpost diameters – you’ll struggle to get the increasingly popular dropper post (for changing saddle height on the fly) in the smallest diameter, for instance. Internal routing for ‘stealth’ droppers is also desirable, though what internal gear cabling/brake hosing gains in looks it can lose in noise and ease of maintenance.

8. Keep some budget back

You will benefit from a dedicated trail helmet, with its greater coverage, stronger construction, and decent peak. You may also want a backpack, plus glasses for warding off flying crud. Then there are sticky shoes for flat pedals, mountain bike-specific shoes, cleats, and clipless pedals.

You may also want new tires to suit your terrain, or simply because OE tires may use harder, cheaper compounds and/or heavier steel beads than their aftermarket namesakes. You may also want to tune your gearing, and almost certainly customize the shape and size of your cockpit.

On the upside, this all still counts as upgrading your bike!

5 Tips for Finding the Perfect Saddle

How do I find the perfect Carbon Bike Saddle? A question that every cyclist will be familiar with. After all, whether you are a keen MTBer, road racer, or triathlete, everyone wants to ride comfortably, without pain, and get the best out of their bike. We help you on your way with five tips for finding your ideal saddle.

Find the Saddle with the Right Shape

No two people are the same. This is why there are so many different saddles available. In the first place, the shape of your saddle depends on your gender. Usually, ladies sit better on a wider, specific female saddle.

But the shape of your saddle also depends on the type of cycling you do. Do you race under extreme circumstances, like downhill for instance? Then you will need a different kind of saddle than an MTBer who wants a saddle that is as light as possible, or a road racer who has to sit on the saddle for hours in a row. So when looking for the right saddle, it’s important to find one that fits your discipline.

Take Account of Your Flexibility and Your Position on the Bike

Test your flexibility. You do this by sitting on the ground and seeing how far you can reach with your hands. How far do you get? Do you struggle to even reach forwards? Then you are less flexible. Can you touch your toes? Then you are very flexible. If you are around halfway, then you are flexible. People who are less flexible have the tendency to shift around on their saddles. A more rounded saddle is better for them. A flexible cyclist has a more stable position on the bike and tends to sit more comfortably on a flat saddle that provides more freedom of movement. The very flexible cyclist actually benefits more from a slightly curved saddle.

Whether you sit comfortably on your bike depends to a large degree on your riding position. Some cyclists prefer an upright position, but others would rather maintain a more sporting or even aerodynamic position. The further you bend forwards, the more pressure you put on the forward part of your pelvic area. And that can lead to pain or numbness. Choose a saddle that suits your riding position and lightens the pressure on crucial parts of your body. That’s how to prevent saddle pain.

Measure the Width of Your Sit Bones

Saddles come in different widths. If you know which type of saddle you’re looking for and your riding position, then choosing a saddle is straightforward. But bear in mind that saddles are sold in various widths. The width of your saddle depends on the distance between your sit bones. By measuring this, you can discover exactly which saddle is best for you. It’s very easy to measure the distance between your sit bones. You can see more details on our official site: https://www.trifoxbike.com/

Set the Saddle to the Right Height

Now you’ve found the perfect saddle, the next step is to set it to the correct height. This contributes to a more efficient pedal stroke and helps to prevent irritating symptoms from arising. Since determining the correct saddle height is important we advise doing a professional bike fit by https://www.trifoxbike.com/ to determine your correct inseam so you are no longer guessing since the numbers tell the tale!

Saddle Position

Ensure your saddle is horizontal. If the nose of your saddle is pointing too far up or down, then you may experience discomfort in certain undesirable areas. If your saddle is too far forward or too far back, this can lead to problems with your neck, lower back, or arms. If you set both your pedals in the horizontal position, then drop a plumb line from your knee, your saddle is in a good position when the plumb line runs past the shaft of your pedal. You can then play around with setting your saddle forwards or back. But don’t make these changes too large, just make minor adjustments to your position. 

How to Choose A Handlebar for Your Bike

The handlebars, saddles, and locking shoes constitute the “golden three points” of the human body and the single workshop. These three contact points determine the riding comfort and the overall compatibility between the rider and the body. The handlebar is set to a necessary consideration for a good cockpit system. Further, the shape, size, and correct setting of the handlebars are critical to the comfort of the rider’s shoulders, neck, back, arms, and hands, while avoiding the occurrence of partial paralysis. This time, I want to talk to you about how to choose a handlebar and provide a reference for novices who are interested in upgrading and remodeling their bike.

How wide should the handlebar be?

Generally speaking, it is recommended that riders decide the width of the handlebar according to their shoulder width, but this is only a standard, in addition to the rider’s riding style, riding habits, and comfort.

A wider carbon bike handlebar can improve riding comfort and handling. If you are a novice, or do not pursue aerodynamic advantages and prefer a light off-road Gravel route, it is recommended to choose a wider handlebar. On the contrary, if you want to develop into road racing or like to engage in long-distance riding, you can choose a narrower handlebar width. For example, if you should use a 420mm handlebar based on the shoulder width, you can change the handlebar width. into 400mm.

Aluminum or carbon fiber?

As for the material selection, some drivers still have to consider their own budget first. The difference between carbon fiber handlebars and aluminum alloy handlebars lies in weight and comfort. Carbon fiber handlebars are lighter in weight, and because carbon fiber is elastic and has a shock-absorbing effect, it will feel more comfortable to hold when riding. But relatively, the rigidity of carbon fiber handlebars is worse than that of aluminum alloys. In terms of durability and firmness, aluminum alloys are slightly better.

If you want to upgrade your bike, then changing the handlebars is definitely more beneficial than updating the wheelset or even a new bike. Find the most suitable handlebars according to your needs and physical constraints. It is recommended that novices who do not know their riding style or preferences can give priority to “comfort” and “handling”. After all, if you want to ride for a long time, Riding far, the relief of discomfort is still important!

For more details please check our official website: https://www.trifoxbike.com/ 

How to Choose A So-called Good Bike for Yourself

First of all, when we buy a carbon fiber mountain bike, we often ask a very vague question: what kind of bike do we buy or what kind of mountain bike do I buy?

The concept of “good” is actually a very subjective concept. If we want to answer the question of what kind of bicycle is “good”, we need to set many objective restrictions on it. For example, what do you want to do with this bike and how much budget do you have? These are two important objective conditions.

Then within these two conditions, we can say what kind of bike is better or more suitable.

So now, when we buy bicycles, whether it’s children’s physical exercise at school, commuting to and from work, we tend to choose a mountain bike. This is closely related to our general understanding and view of sports bikes for a long time, but does each of us need a mountain bike? Or can mountain bikes meet all our needs? The answer is Negative, or not-so-special affirmation.

When we bought the bike, the first impression was the shape, color, and appearance of the mountain bike. Secondly, we would listen to the introduction of the clerk, including its configuration, its transmission, how fast the transmission system is, whether it is a hydraulic front brake, whether its front fork belt is locked, etc.

But these are some very superficial configurations. In fact, for a mountain bike, we all know that its core component “frame” is often ignored – all-aluminum alloy frames – but in fact, it is different from ATX to XTC. They are all aluminum alloy frames, but the use of these two different frames has a very different trend – the ATX series, which is for the purpose of leisure riding. On the basis of leisure riding, XTC has added many factors for cross-country riding and mountain riding, so we need to pay attention to this.

Today we show a few points for choosing a bike for a newbie, if you want to get more info, please check our official website: https://www.trifoxbike.com/

Analysis of the causes of knee pain when cycling

Too high a carbon bike saddle can cause pain on the outside of the knee.

A low seat saddle can cause pain in the inside of the knee.

Heavy stepping can cause pain behind the kneecap, and the tenderness point is on the kneecap.

Cycling can indeed cause very serious knee injuries, In short, it can be divided into the following categories:

When riding, try to use the pinion ratio to improve the stepping frequency. Don’t use the gear ratio too heavy. You must use light stepping. Start riding 10 kilometers with light teeth, with even force, and with no excessive rest, We don’t encourage riding uphill. If you can ride uphill, don’t force it. The cart is not a matter of falling off the chain. Please rest assured that the comrades in arms in front will wait for you and won’t fall behind you.

The main reason is that the riding posture is not correct. Avoid riding with the outer figure 8 or the inner figure 8.

If the bicycle is pulled too high and the legs are stretched too straight when pedaling, it is said that it will also cause knee injury.

The pain in the inner thigh of the knee area is non-persistent. It is often found when changing the posture when sleeping or working for a long time. It is manifested as slight tingling. This is not a knee injury, but a strain of the medial thigh ligament. Most of the reasons are due to the incorrect riding posture itself. The most common is the external splayed leg of cycling.

Most of this situation is not serious and does not affect the actual riding. Use the inner leg lock to correct the posture, and at least reduce the strength of KMS.

Pain in the upper seam of the knee area, non-persistent, similar to 1, manifested as swelling or tingling. This situation is due to the strain of muscles and tendons caused by stepping on or shaking the bicycle vigorously, which is common after climbing the mountain and shaking the bicycle continuously. You don’t need to care too much. Just pay attention to rest and reduce your strength.

The cartilage tissue inside the knee is damaged. There is a sense of foreign body in the knee during exercise. There is swelling and pain when pressing the knee bone. The pain will be aggravated by shaking the knee bone back and forth, left and right.

This is the real knee damage, which must be treated with physical adjuvant therapy, and no large-scale activities shall be carried out for a while. Hiking and mountaineering are more prone to such problems, and cycling seems to be OK.

How to choose the tire that suits you

The importance of tires in a bike is often easily overlooked. Tire characteristics are closely related to the performance and efficiency of the bike. Here I will introduce you to the structure of tires and the characteristics of tires. First of all, we first understand the tires. Only by understanding the structure of the tires can we find suitable tires for ourselves.

The structure of the tire

The structure of the tire is like this. The clincher of a bicycle is the main body of the tire composed of a woven mesh cover, with a layer of tire skin attached to it to wear during rolling, and two bead lips are embedded to hold the tire
Fixed on the wheel frame, thus forming the main structure of the tire. Because bicycle tires are relatively thin and are prone to punctures or cuts, most of them will add an explosion-proof layer between the tire skin and the mesh cover to increase the strength of the tire.

Click Here To Buy High-Quality Clincher Carbon Fiber Wheelset

Characteristics of tires
Generally speaking, when describing the characteristics of a tire, it is roughly divided into several directions: rolling resistance, grip, road feel, abrasion resistance, explosion-proof, weight, and price. In addition, there are two other characteristics that are often overlooked but are very important: power transmission and manufacturing quality. If you want to use “noun interpretation” to explain these vocabulary, you may fall asleep before you finish reading, so I still use “feeling” to describe these characteristics, which is easier to read.

Rolling resistance
When the wheel starts to roll, you want it to keep rolling and not slow down. Of course, this is impossible because it will face wind resistance and other resistance. In terms of the resistance of the bicycle itself, a small part of the reason is the resistance of the hub bearing, and the other main part is the “rolling resistance” of the tire. The smaller the rolling resistance, the easier it is to maintain the speed. In other words, the speed will increase if you use the same strength to step on it. Needless to say, the smaller the rolling resistance, the better.

Grip
When you are cornering or braking, the last thing you want to happen is skidding. At this time, the tire’s “grip” is the key. Even in straight acceleration, grip is required when the force is strong. The greater the grip, the better.

Road sense
When encountering uneven roads, some tires will make you feel very bumpy and make your whole body uncomfortable. Some tires are stuffy and don’t feel anything. Other tires make you feel changes in road conditions but don’t feel bumpy. These feelings are collectively referred to as the “sense of the road.” You want to have a comfortable sense of the way, not a sense of the way that will overwhelm you.

Abrasion resistance
Generally speaking, bicycle tires are expensive. If you use the amount per unit of rubber, they are many times more expensive than bike tires. So you would hope that such expensive things can last longer. This is the responsibility of the tire’s “wear resistance”. The better the wear resistance, the longer the mileage that can be used.

Explosion-proof
Broken tires can be said to be the most common failure encountered in cycling leisure sports, and in order to reduce the weight of the tire skin is often only a thin layer, it is not easy to withstand the puncture of stones, glass, tree branches. Most outdoor tires have an “explosion-proof” design to prevent foreign bodies from piercing the mesh cover.
　　
Weight
Maybe you are one of those who are chasing lightweight. Any spare part on a bicycle has to care about the dozen or twenty grams. Undoubtedly, the inner and outer tires are also a lightweight standard, and one bicycle can be as short as one or two hundred grams. Regardless of the effect of reducing the weight of the tires, just seeing the weight reduction on the book of the whole bike may make you obediently take out the money to buy lightweight tires.

Force transmission
If you, like me, have ridden the particle tires of mountain bikes and replaced them with bald tires, you will definitely feel that the acceleration is more pronounced with the same effort when you start, and it becomes lighter when climbing. This is that the “power transmission” of the tire has become better, or it can be said that the “rigidity” of the tire is better. A tire with poor power transmission looks like a tread stuck to an asphalt road, but it is like stepping into the mud with a lot of effort.

Manufacturing quality
Do you feel that some tires look frizzy and uncomfortable? Some tires add different colors for visual effects or other reasons, but have you found that the color junction is skewed? Some tires are put on the rim and then you turn around. Have you noticed that they are not “perfect round” and have deviations up and down? Even manufacturers should not be happy to see these unpleasant aspects in their products, but it may be that quality control fails to meet the requirements or sacrifices made under cost considerations.

Price
The price of tires also varies greatly. A lightweight tire used in competition may cost two to three thousand yuan, but a training tire may cost less than five hundred yuan. There are some tires with outstanding characteristics on the market, such as extremely lightweight or ultra-high tire pressure. It often depends on how much you are willing to spend in exchange for these characteristics, and these characteristics in exchange for money may make you ride Feel happy while cycling, or make the race performance even better.

In addition to the price, it is almost possible to take into account all the features, depending on the manufacturer’s design ingenuity and industrial technology. However, often after adding cost and selling price factors, compromises are produced. It has become a little difficult to make comprehensive tires at a reasonable price, so manufacturers will make a fuss about certain features of the product to increase the attractiveness of the product.

Do you know how to maintain a carbon fiber frame?

Carbon fiber is an incredible material that has completely changed the design and performance of bicycle frames. It is lightweight, corrosion-resistant, can be molded into various required shapes, and is very strong in use. The claim that carbon fiber frames and related parts are generally brittle and unreliable is not true, but just alarmist. It is strong enough to be used in F1 and the aerospace industry, and there is no doubt that it is naturally used in the bicycle field.

If it is produced by a credible manufacturer and used correctly, there is no reason why the carbon frame will not give you enough mileage to ride happily, and now many manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty for the frame. No matter what frame material you choose, whether it is a carbon frame, a steel frame, aluminum alloy, or titanium alloy, quality is the key, and good quality is always more durable. Riding a carbon frame bike, you don’t need to deliberately change some cycling methods, but you can pay attention to the details of the daily maintenance and use of some carbon fiber bikes.

Buy a torque wrench

Despite the incredible force performance in the design direction, squeezing can easily damage the carbon fiber, such as over-tightened bolts and clamps, handlebars, and seat posts are the most common causes of damage to the carbon fiber frame. All parts of a carbon fiber car will be marked with a recommended torque value in Newton meters, which can be found on the relevant parts, manuals, or on the manufacturer’s official website. If you have a carbon fiber bike, a torque wrench is necessary, it can ensure that you will not use more than the recommended torque to tighten the components. If you have previously owned a bicycle with a metal frame, you may be surprised that the force required to assemble and adjust a carbon fiber bicycle is so small.

Use carbon assembly paste

The relatively small torque required for the carbon frame and its components also has a drawback that it is easy to slip off. This especially affects the Seatpost. Don’t risk trying to tighten the Seatpost with extra, more force, you should use carbon assembly paste. This is a gel containing fine particles, similar to a thin film, which increases friction between the contact surfaces to prevent slippage. Assembling paste and torque wrench are necessary for carbon fiber car owners.

Be careful

Damage to the carbon frame caused by accidents or collisions is usually difficult to predict and avoid in advance, but some collision events that damage the carbon fiber can be easily avoided. A common situation is when the handlebar is rotated and hits the upper tube of the frame. This often happens when the bicycle is inadvertently lifted. So be careful not to let this happen when picking up the bike. In addition, try to avoid stacking bicycles on other bicycles, and do not use the seat part to lean on poles or pillars, so that the bicycle will easily slip and cause a collision with the frame. Leaning the bike on a surface such as a wall is much safer. Of course, you don’t need to be too nervous to wrap your bike with cotton wool. You just need to be more careful and take reasonable precautions to avoid unnecessary collisions.

Keep it clean

Regular cleaning can give you a chance to inspect the bike carefully to see if there are obvious signs of damage. Regardless of the material of the frame, this should be your routine during cycling. Of course, rough cleaning also needs to be avoided, which will damage the epoxy resin wrapped around the carbon fiber. If you have any questions about how to clean your bike scientifically, you can consult the manufacturer for advice. Any degreaser or cleaning products for bicycles and old-fashioned mild soapy water should be used appropriately and reasonably.

Avoid squeezing

As mentioned above, try not to over-tighten the parts. Carbon fiber is easily damaged by extrusion. Therefore, you need to be especially careful when using a repair rack or an on-board bicycle rack to clamp the frame tube. The bicycle should be fixed with minimal pressure, or a protective layer can be wrapped on the frame. Of course, you can also consider changing to a bicycle transportation method. If you want to take your bicycle on the plane, we strongly recommend using a hard special box for packing.

Don’t reverse

For metal frames and parts, for example, during the installation process of handlebars and Seatposts, it is normal and acceptable to give a certain amount of rotation or pull for fine adjustment after being fixed. However, this step will cause damage on the carbon fiber car and must be strongly avoided. The correct way is to use the recommended torque value and use the assembly paste. If the position and angle of the parts need to be adjusted, the parts should be completely loosened in advance.

Measure twice, cut once

If you need to cut carbon fiber parts, such as handlebars and the entire Seatpost, remember to measure carefully and accurately, and wrap it with tape as a mark for the cutting part. Cutting requires a special carbon saw blade, which can prevent fiber tearing and abrasion. . Never use a pen or sharp tool to mark the position on the seat post that needs to be cut, because even a small scratch may damage the carbon fiber. Instead, you can use insulating tape to paste and wrap it to mark the cut position.

Avoid chain jamming

Many people have encountered the situation of chain drop, especially when shifting gears incorrectly. In the worst case, the chain gets stuck between the smallest chainring and the chainstay after the chain is dropped, and it gets stuck instantly. For carbon fiber bikes, this is a great “pain”. When this happens, stop pedaling immediately and avoid further exertion. After returning home, thoroughly clean and relubricate your drive system. Check your chain, including wear, elasticity, etc. It is best to replace it if necessary.

Replace the brake pads

If you use alloy training wheels and carbon fiber racing wheels alternately, replacing your brake pads accordingly is the most basic. Although there are dual-purpose brake pads, the remaining metal fragments on the surface of the brake pads can easily scratch and destroy the carbon fiber rim.

If the worst happens

In the event of a crash or accident, unlike the metal frame, where the depression or bending damage can be clearly seen on the exterior, the carbon fiber may appear to be undamaged on the exterior, but it has actually been damaged. If you have such a crash and worry about your frame, be sure to ask a professional technician to do a professional inspection. Even serious damage can be repaired well. Even if the aesthetics are not perfect, it can at least guarantee safety and function.

How do I park a bicycle without foot support?

Many cyclists are very entangled with a question at the beginning, that is, whether to install a bicycle foot support or not. In the later practice, it proved that there is really no need to install, some said it was because of weight reduction, some said it was ugly, and some said it damaged the bike. In short, don’t install it!

For sports bikes, we don’t advocate the installation of bicycle foot supports, so what should we do when I need to park when we go out? Here are some bike enthusiasts who use the things at hand and the surrounding environment to help park their favorite bicycles. Let’s learn together! Share eight parking methods for your reference:

Put the handlebar against the wall
Handlebars against the wall are something many cyclists will do, or they are against roadside railings, etc. It requires a little skill and a little adjustment.

Use the rear wheel against the wall
Similarly, use the rear wheel is against the wall. It is also very good to just use the rear wheel to find a support point on the wall.

Use the bicycle saddle against the wall
Of course, Use the cushions against the wall, the reason is the same. The advantage of placing the cushion against the wall is that you don’t worry about the wall bumping into other parts of the bicycle. Extend it, you can also lean against trees and lampposts.

Hook the railing
Limited to the handlebars, the handlebars of bicycles have found a new purpose. Hooking on the railings may be more stable than leaning on them.

Support front and back together
It means that as long as you lean against the wall, you can stabilize it. It is also the easiest and most practical way.

Fall to the ground (put the side with the rear derailleur up)
Pay attention to the fact that the transmission is facing upwards. When parking, be careful not to let the rear transmission directly touch the supporting surface; this can reduce the damage to the transmission and affect the accuracy of shifting.

Two bicycles lean on each other
This requires technology, and it’s very easy to rely on. If you don’t rely on it well, the bike falls in minutes.

Use the road teeth to put the foot on it
This method is very cool and the most commonly used. The bicycle is standing on the side of the road, and you are standing next to the bicycle.
Finally, I would like to remind you that when you park your bicycle, you must protect it. Don’t let your bike bump into it. If you drop a piece of paint or something, you will feel very distressed.

Too bumpy? How to improve the comfort of road bikes

For most road bikers, comfort is definitely a part of efficiency, as people often say, “Smooth is faster” unless you are a “copper wall and iron fart”, or your cycling route is very smooth.

Some cyclists may feel that the comfort of the bicycle is not up to expectations, so they will choose to replace the endurance frame or the ultra-light climbing frame. This is of course a way to solve the problem from the root, In fact, there are some methods that do not need to be so troublesome or even cost a penny to improve comfort.

Tires are the first level of shock absorption. In fact, most of the shock absorption of road bikes is done by tires. Suitable tire settings can be used more than endurance frames, so we start with tires.

Tire pressure

First of all, of course, the free method of improving comfort is to lower the tire pressure. So far, many cyclists are still superstitious that this high tire pressure is faster, so many feel that the bike is too bumpy, in fact, because the tire pressure is too high. In this era of 25c, even 28c wide tires and wide rims, the tire pressure of 120PSI has long been unnecessary. As long as you are not a 200 kg rider, the tire pressure of about 100 PSI is completely sufficient, and 28c tires can even be reduced to 80 PSI. Therefore, if you feel that the bike is too bumpy, you must first check your tire pressure setting. A reduction of 5-10PSI is enough to change the cycling experience.

In the era of disc brake road bikes, most frames were designed based on 28c tires, and many frames support measured 30mm or even 32mm tires. The 28c tire will be higher than the 25c after inflation, and the “buffer cushion” is also larger, so it can effectively improve the road feel.

But wide tires are a double-edged sword. While improving the road feel, due to the increase in the weight of the tire and inner tube, and the weight gain is concentrated on the outer edge of the wheelset, it will increase the feeling of heavy drag and reduce the efficiency. Especially obvious. Obviously, this is just a comfort-oriented improvement plan. If you want to have both speed and comfort, you have to think of a way. Since we have to sacrifice a little weight, we do not adopt this plan.

Tubeless tyre

If you don’t want to use 28c wide tires, you can choose to use tubeless tires. Currently, most disc brake wheels support tubeless tires. Since the tubeless tire has no friction between the inner tube and the outer tire, the rolling resistance will be lower than that of the open tire; and the risk of snake bite is eliminated, and lower tire pressure can be used. In actual experience, in the case of 80PSI tubeless tires, the rolling resistance is almost the same as that of 100PSI clinchers, and the road feel will be significantly improved.

So you definitely want to ask, is the 28c tubeless tire feeling invincible? This is indeed the case, and without the weight of the inner tube, it will be lighter than the 28c clincher, and the efficiency will be higher.

Of course, the tubeless tyre is not perfect, and it is quite troublesome to use. For example, disassembly and assembly, emergency treatment of a puncture, and dry self-refilling make it a little more troublesome to use it. But compared to tube tires, I would still choose tubeless tires.

So is there any other way? some!

Wide wheelset

There is no metaphysics in this, it is just that the rim of nearly 21mm inner width increases the actual installation width of the tire. The actual installation width of the 25c Continental wheels has already been 29mm, so what you enjoy is the comfort improvement brought by the wide tires, not the wheels themselves.

This benefit is also very obvious, that is, with the weight of 25c tires, you can enjoy the road feel of 28c tires. It is a perfect solution. For example, with a pair of wheels with an inner width of 17.5mm and an outer width of 25mm, with clinchers, the road feel has been significantly improved, and the vibration has been reduced below the threshold.

Handlebar

Slim pneumatic handlebars have weaker vertical rigidity due to the horizontal part of the handlebar, so they can be slightly more shock-absorbing, such as TC20AF, TC20UL, etc.

Strap

Using a thicker handlebar can also bring comfort, but it will increase the handlebar diameter and affect the grip. Some handlebars with silicone anti-skid straps can also improve a certain degree of shock absorption.

Seatpost

For some entry-level models, upgrading a carbon fiber seatpost can significantly improve the comfort of the cushion area.

Bike Saddle

Some comfort-oriented bike saddle can well improve the comfort of the hips.

Cycling pants

Some of the cushions of cycling pants that are specifically designed for long-distance cycling will be optimized for long-term cycling and can also provide some extra hip comfort.

Of course, if the above measures cannot meet the road conditions of your local cycling route, then you really need an endurance bike with a shock-absorbing structure.